As Obama walked on stage (on TV), the Dems sang along to his entrance song: "Signed, sealed, delivered -- I'm yours!" They watched him speak, enraptured. His lines about Michelle and Joe Biden, about field organizers, the military and immigrants earned cheers, whistles and applause. At the end, their cheers drowned out the President.
Rodney Williams, 49, was at the very front of the crowd. His face was plastered with a wide grin and illuminated in the glow. When the speech was over, we approached him to ask how he was feeling. But before we could say anything, he enveloped us in a rib-crushing hug. He held us so tight, we could feel his heart beating beneath his Obama T-shirt.
"This is about a man who loves his country," he said. "He deserves to be where he is."
By 12:15 a.m., Obama's speech was over, but the Dems weren't done. Several stuck around, dancing with abandon to "Love Shack" like the world's most elated wedding guests. Mischa Martinez danced with a cross-eyed Romney mask on a stick. A Gene Simmons tongue had been glued to Mitt's mouth and a sign stapled to the side of his head said, "No more Romnesia. Thanks, Barack." "I left it in the car just in case," Martinez explained; when it looked like Obama would win, "I figured I'd better go get it."
For photos from the Dems party, the GOP party and the party to celebrate the passage of pro-pot Amendment 64, check out our Election Night in Denver slideshow.
Follow me on Twitter @MelanieAsmar or e-mail me at [email protected]